Creating memorable event experiences requires planners to rethink the way they design events. Innovation and transformation in event design is key. The BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 INNOVATION provided insights into how it is done in Berlin.
Innovative Event Experiences ı New Meeting Concepts ı Creative Event Design ı Transformative Events
Creating memorable event experiences requires planners to rethink the way they design events. Innovation and transformation in event design is key. And it can take many forms.
The choice of an unconventional event location with more flexible and purpose-driven meeting set-ups. New technologies for 360° stakeholder communication. A new focus on intuitive learning through multisensory experiences or creative product presentations. Or more space for interactions that foster visionary thinking, smart prototyping, and effective networking.
For the BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 on INNOVATION (3- 5 July in Berlin), the Berlin Convention Office invited 20 international experts from the meetings industry to delve deeper into innovative concepts, projects and collaboration partnerships transforming Berlin’s event industry.
Berlin is a meeting destination that is not only at the pulse of time but that leads the way in transformation towards a new future for the event industry. That is, among others, because of the extensive professional network among the players of Berlin’s events industry.
The large range of collaboration partners and supporters of the BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 serves as the perfect example of that synergetic approach towards transformation and innovation in the meetings industry.
Players from the local economy, various institutions (e.g. scientific, educational, political, cultural, financial), and key systemic service providers of communication, mobility and sustainability solutions work together in a way that benefits the organisers of events in all regards.
Amira Gutmann-Trieb, Cluster manager for the information, communication and tech-economy segment at Berlin Partner, was ambassador of the INNOVATION Masterclass programme. The chance to network with representatives from such important multiplicator-institutions proved to be a real door-opener for participating event planners who want to organise an event in Berlin.
“We have the whole value chain. There are a lot of universities, scientific institutions, and many opportunities for entrepreneurs in both research & development, and the industry.
Events that connect those people and institutions are an essential component of that ecosystem and an engine of continuous development in the industry.”
Amira Gutmann-Trieb, Berlin Partner Cluster IKT, INNOVATION Ambassador of BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024
The BESTIVAL Masterclass on INNOVATION (the 2024’s special edition of the worldwide unique Business Festival for the MICE and Travel Industry BESTIVAL) was proof for that.
Participants had the exclusive chance to make first-hand experiences of the innovative spirit and future drive which is characteristic for the city of Berlin and which can positively impact business events taking place here.
In two and a half days in Berlin, MICE planners were provided with KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCES about the MICE destination of Berlin. Both components featured valid expert input, new ideas, and valuable business contacts for creating more transformative, user-centric and meaningful events.
All programme points and selected speakers therefore were curated by experienced event experts of the Berlin Convention Office, who have sophisticated knowledge of the industry.
The educational sessions revealed a deep understanding of the fact that the first obstacles to transformative progress, innovation and unconventional thinking in the event design and planning phase frequently lie in overcoming risk-averse management structures, fears and prejudices.
Together with the meeting designer and speaker Felix Rundel, one of the many Berlin-based consultants that are specialised on innovation in the events industry, participants discussed their pain points, framework limitations, and personal aspirations in designing unique and valuable events.
That provided, Rundel empowered event planners to tackle those hurdles with best practice examples, strong arguments based on valid data from neuroscience, and concrete planning tools to map out exactly the meeting experience that they want to deliver to their guests.
Taking the issue of event catering as an example, the participants experienced first-hand what immense power lies in the way new ideas are introduced to event stakeholders.
Berlin Cuisine, event caterer and sustainable service partner of the Berlin Convention Office for many years, has created a lunch experience that was both vegan and organic, as well as exciting, spectacular, and truly memorable for the Masterclass participants. Their witty storytelling from plant to plate to product reuse around the food served to the audience was thought-provoking and made many participants think about plant-based catering options for business events in a new way.
Broadening the perspective on reuse and recycling concepts for more sustainable events in Berlin, the participants were introduced to a range of projects, initiatives, and local institutions from Berlin that successfully collaborate with event planners to strengthen Berlin’s position as the most sustainable, innovative, and responsible meeting destination in the world.
Themed tours through Berlin that are focused on the needs, business interests and questions of event organisers, such as the one prepared by Phoebe Blackburn, are frequent in Berlin.
The Berlin Convention Office is always happy to connect you with exactly the right partners tailored to individual event requests. Send an e-mail with your request to convention@visitberlin.de.
During the tour, event planners for instance got to know a range of event venues that are perfectly suited to thematically and physically stimulate outside-the-box thinking.
Besides the site visits to LOBE Block and Futurium, the tour through Estrel Berlin with exclusive access of the Estrel Tower (Europe’s largest hotel building to be opened in Berlin in summer 2025) showcased the international meeting planners and media representatives the richness and diversity of Berlin’s location portfolio.
More inspiring venues for your innovative congress, convention, business meeting, or evening event in Berlin can be found in the Meeting Guide Berlin.
Indeed, the programme was conceptualised to cover the full spectrum of manifold locations Berlin has to offer. These futuristic buildings provided an interesting contrast to the iconic hub27 at the Messe Berlin exhibition fairgrounds, historic venues such as the AVUS Tribüne, the boutique host hotels (InterContinental Berlin and Hotel Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof), and to the charming lakeside Almhütte that was selected for the networking dinner at Café am Neuen See.
The versatility of the venues furthermore allowed participants to familiarise with different approaches to facilitated networking in business contexts. One particularly interesting format was introduced during a networking dinner with representatives of partnering institutions of the local MICE industry. Guests were guided through the evening from icebreaking to speed-dating, adapting the unconventional relationship-building concepts of Germany’s biggest organiser of single parties “Fisch sucht Fahrrad” to the B2B world.
Generally, interactive meeting formats were the core of the BESTIVAL Masterclass and approached from a theoretical and practical perspective. Participants were able to apply state-of-the-industry Event Canvas strategies and personal learnings taken away from the workshop with Gerrit Jessen that rounded off the programme on the last day.
Engaging with partners and suppliers from the Berlin event industry, meeting planners were able to get to know the possibilities, specialties and unique identity of the meeting destination of Berlin first-hand – exclusive insights and valuable advantages for the organisation of the next major congress, lead conference, or association summit in the meeting metropolis of Berlin.
A special highlight in that regard has been the guided tour over the Future League Area and Fan Zone at the Reichstag by Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH, organising institution of the city-wide UEFA EURO 2024 Festival and the Berlin Football Culture Summer. Participants witnessed the Host City of Berlin proving itself competent to successfully acquire and realise major events with international media attention, high-capacity demands, and a clear mission to leave a lasting positive legacy on the host destination.
The integration of and cooperation with a multitude of local initiatives for inclusion, diversity, sustainability and intercultural exchange in and through sports in the context of the UEFA EURO 2024 served as a role model for the Masterclass participants, who were mainly event planners from associations hosting large congresses of over 500 PAX.
Last but not least, the unique opportunity to watch the German quarter final against Spain live from the VIP tribune at the Fan Zone at Brandenburg Gate certainly made participation in the BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 INNOVATION a memorable experience.
The first edition of the BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 showcased what innovation ambassador Amira Gutmann-Trieb proclaimed:
“In Berlin we are very versatile and we are good at organising tailored events. We have well-established events like the IFA, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and engages B2B and B2C clients in a format that sets industry standards. But we are just as good in co-developing and enabling new events with concepts that are exceptional, future-oriented and innovative.”
The Masterclass on INNOVATION was another successful pilot project of the Berlin Convention Office to embrace the identity of the city brand of Berlin, cover a full range of topics and concepts related to innovation in the global event and national MICE industry, and invite meeting planners from all over the world to immerse themselves and their events in the meeting destination of Berlin in an unforgettable new way.
Giving credit to the other focus topics shaping the meeting destination of Berlin and thus also the BESTIVAL, the Berlin Convention Office organised two additional Masterclass editions, focusing on SUSTAINABILITY (9-11 October 2024) and COMMUNITY (4-6 December 2024) in Berlin.
Sign up now for your own exclusive Berlin event experience! Secure your spot for the BESTIVAL Masterclass 2024 SUSTAINABILITY or COMMUNITY here or send an e-mail to bestival@visitberlin.de
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